Life and Love of Crime on the Run
by Bamboofoxfire Productions
Summary: As international thieves, Allen and Lavi have more than a little bit of experience pulling off heists, and seek out only the priciest of scores, so its no wonder they set their sites on a newly publicized jewel worth tens of millions called the "Heart of Innocence", but when the guard standing between them and wealth is Yuu Kanda, they may have bitten off more than they can chew.


**A/N:** I got this idea in my head after listening to Partners in Crime by Set It Off. Enjoy~

* * *

 **Life and Love of Crime on the Run  
A D Gray-Man Fanfiction  
**

* * *

"Ugh... I don't know how the Arabs _stand_ it here. Its so _hot_." Even fanning himself was barely helping at all.

There were no words he could think of aside from sweltering that came even close to how intense the heat was. It was all he could do to slump back over a chair in the shade and wish for more forgiving weather. At least the trade off was that it grew cold after dark, which Allen found rather strange. That deserts actually got really, _really_ frigid at night.

"Maybe we can find a pool somewhere to take a dip?"

Allen scoffed at the suggestion. "And where do you suggest we do that? You do know where we are, right?" As if they'd just have big open expanses of water lying around, unprotected! "I don't know about you, but I don't fancy being shot at."

" 'could always seduce your way inside. Dress up all pretty-like." There was far too much of a snicker in that tone for his liking.

"Women don't generally walk around the middle east dressed up _`pretty-like`_ and alone, much less try to seduce themselves into a place, unless they're a prostitute. Why don't you just stick a big sign reading _Delq desabi_ on me?"

Lavi laughed at his rough use of common Arabic. "Well I didn't say to pretend to be a woman!"

Allen rolled his eyes at the redhead. "Oh, so just parade around as a fag instead? In one of the homophobic capitals of the world? That's even more clever!" Just for that one, he threw the nearest book at the older male, who dodged it without even looking.

Some little voice in the back of his mind - it was reminiscent of his late foster father, Mana - admonished him for the action and the snapped comebacks that were the exact opposite of gentlemanly, but with Lavi, he didn't care. Lavi was the type who would poke a bear until it mauled him if given the chance, and Allen took the bait often. Were truth be told, it was more of a relief he could have someone to relax around enough that he could drop his masks with and not mind his mouth quite so much. It was annoying always being the proverbial bear, but it was fond annoyance all the same.

With a languid, skyward stretch, the white-haired male swiveled around and crossed his arms over the back of the chair, using them as a pillow for his head.

"Found anything of interest yet?"

"Hm... maybe," Lavi hummed thoughtfully.

Standing, Allen crossed the room and half-draped himself over the redhead's shoulders, humming as he watched Lavi's computer screen. "What've you got?"

"Some new place. Well... the place ain't new... but it just opened to the public. Black Order Castle."

"Black Order?" Allen tilted his head slightly against Lavi's, gray eyes inquisitive.

"Its an old Christian/Catholic establishment from around the 18th and 19th centuries, but its never been open to the public. No one even knew what it was for, but its been there for a long time and always been guarded. People speculated it was used for all kinds of ugly things, like experimenting on children." Allen shivered slightly at the thought. He knew just _how_ ugly people could get. "Most of it's just rumors though. Now they're opening it up as a museum... -oh, hello!"

He kept scanning as he spoke and stopped on a picture of an item behind a display case, a luminescent green gemstone which was shaped like a heart, decorated with a lavish gold frame around the outside. Allen leaned forward.

"What is that?"

" _`The Heart of Innocence`_ ," Lavi read off the page.

"It looks pricy," Allen mused. Even without Allen's keen eye for money and valuable objects, Lavi knew it just as well. "What is it made out of?"

Lavi hummed, scanning the page for details. "Holy Hell. 320 carats of green jadeite and an outer frame of 24 carat gold."

"The real deal?"

"Only one way to know for sure," Lavi replied.

"So how much exactly are we talking?" Allen knew money figures well, but Lavi was the encyclopedic expert on a lot of the finer details of things like jewels and scientifics.

"Well the average price is about 20k per carat, but if we're talking the highest quality here, and its been cut and polished, it could range somewhere in the tens of millions, if not higher."

Allen bit his thumbnail. It was a tempting prospect, but risky. "Something like that is going to be well-guarded."

"No kidding."

"When is this big opening?"

Lavi hummed, scrolling. "Looks like... two months, four days, sixteen hours, twelve minutes, a-nd... thirty-two seconds."

"...I think I'm convinced you completely made that last one up," Allen speculated. All the same, he didn't disbelieve it, only because of how many times he'd been disproved. The redhead was almost terrifyingly quick in the intellect department.

"I'd tell you to double-check it yourself," Lavi returned with a sneaking smirk, pecking him briefly on the lips. "...but its already been twenty three seconds."

"Cheeky arsehole," Allen teased with a pronounced English lilt, roughing the older male's hair affectionately and returning the peck to his cheek.

"Mmm... I love it when you start throwing accents at me," Lavi hummed pleasantly, twirling his seat around and pulling Allen to kneel one leg on his lap, assaulting his neck with affectionate nibbles. Allen squirmed and giggled faintly, trying increasingly hard to ignore the attention as he kept his eyes focused on the computer, scrolling and reading.

 _One_ of them had to keep their eye on the prize. Clearly it had to be him since Lavi's focus was on other things, with the redhead trying to coax him towards the same thinking.

"Looks like we're off to _Paris_ for this thing."

"And now French? Treadin' dangerous waters, 'sprout..."

" _Allen_ ," he corrected, scolding in a rough tongue, "Learn to use my bloody name ye ginger cack! And let go of me already, I can't fucking scroll this thing with you holding onto me."

"Then maybe you should stop seducing me with foreign tongues and Brit slang~" Lavi returned. Allen rolled his eyes and was about to tell him off, but instead ended up closing his mouth with an audible click when a knee rode up his groin and teeth hit the sensitive parts of his nape just right to start making him all hot and bothered.

"I didn't agree to this right now..." Allen managed to mumble around breathy moans, even as he angled himself to give better access to his neck.

"But you're not saying No," Lavi pointed out, nipping at his earlobe.

Allen was ready to throw a _maybe I might_ at the other, but didn't get the chance when Lavi leaned too far down and slipped from the office chair, which shot to the other side of the room and left both of them smacking their heads on the floor. Talk about ruining the mood.

" _Bloody Hell!_ " Allen swore, holding his throbbing forehead. He gave Lavi a smack for good measure. "Brilliant idea trying to sex me up on a rolly-chair ye gobshite!"

Lavi laughed throatily. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

He tried to roll them over and Top, but Allen was having none of that, flipping them around again to straddle Lavi against the floor and pin his wrists. Likely it wouldn't be the last battle-of-wills for who got what role in their horny romping before the day was up. He pointedly wiggled back against the bulge making a tent out of the redhead's off-white jeans. Might as well finish what Lavi had started. He'd already lost focus on the web page for now anyway, gray eyes dilated with lust.

"First to lose their load plays the woman this time around," Allen snarked sassily.

Lavi grinned at him like a Cheshire cat. "Challenge accepted."

* * *

Allen lost this time, one of the only kinds of bets he ever lost. He was fine with that(but he swore that _next_ time will be different and he _will_ see Lavi play the female role in one of their escapades one day). It wasn't as if he had to pay up on his end to dress himself up all "pretty-like" for another two months, four days, and however-many-hours-and-minutes anyway.

Besides, it wasn't much of a punishment. If anything he toyed with the idea that getting formally dolled up on occasion was rather nice, and Lavi never skimped on quality when it came to all the little odds and ends he gifted Allen with to use on just such occasions. Maybe if he were being honest with himself he might go so far as to think he let himself lose on purpose. At the very least it was a change of pace from skinny punk jeans and an old, weathered overcoat draped over a flannel shirt or a white button-up.

Tonight was all about a long, white, patterned knit with bushy fur trim around the neckline and shoulders, his fingertips barely reaching past the cuffs of the sleeves, and low-heel high-thigh boots. His white hair was spiked up and swept back, and the scar over his left eye hid behind a mask of cover-up, blush, eye-liner, mascara, and shadow.

It made him actually look somewhat normal, on account he was practically albino the rest of the year all the way from his eye-lashes and down to... other places(which made proving to Lavi that his hair _was_ all-natural white and not bleached quite entertaining).

Lipstick finished off the whole picture and he could definitely say, quite confidently, that he passed quite well for a woman, especially with the fur collar of his jacket hiding his adam's apple.

When he decided he was all done, he unlocked the door to the bathroom and stepped out. Lavi was already done and waiting for him, dressed in an embroidered green-black coat with white dress-pants and a tasseled orange scarf. The black dress-shoes looked a little weird, but maybe that was just because Allen was used to seeing him in knee-high boots.

Other than that, he actually looked more normal himself, wearing a green contact over his hazy right eye to match the working left side, rather than simply covering it up with an eye-patch as per usual(which Lavi claims makes him look cooler and badass so people are less likely to mess with him).

The look on the redhead's face when he saw Allen walk out was priceless, as always.

"Hey, pretty lady," Lavi joked. "Seen my pal Allen around here anywhere? Because I might just not be able to help myself without him here to keep me in check..."

Allen rolled his eyes at the cheesy pick-up line. "Maybe hiding somewhere in the closet, far away from you." Even as the words left his lips, Lavi was circling around the furniture towards him, sliding arms around the front of his shoulders from behind.

"His loss then... I already left that place far behind me."

Allen played along and arched into the touches just for a moment, rolling his hips back. He had no intentions of taking things further(not after he spent four hours primping) but he could still tease. "I thought you said you were going to unload your ` _clip`_ before we went out?"

" 'guess I forgot one in the chamber..." Lavi hummed, nosing past fur to reach Allen's neck. He didn't get much further than that when Allen jammed his elbow into Lavi's ribs hard, forcing a gust of air out of him. Allen pointedly stepped away and gave the red-haired horn-dog the bitchiest grin possible.

"You're going to mess up my looks," he supplied, deliberately looking like he was straightening out his attire, even though the order of his clothing was probably the only ` _straight`_ thing in the room. "Besides, I'm wearing a cup. We can't have you getting distracted with _other things_ right now." His already present grin nearly split his face in half when Lavi cleared his throat awkwardly.

"No, of course not."

Smiling, Allen stepped towards him and leaned up for a sweet kiss, entwining fingers to lead his lover towards the door. They had a valuable mark to scope out. "Then let's get down to business, shall we?"

* * *

"Oh, wow," Allen breathed quietly, leaning back a little as he stared up the full height of the castle - which was more like a tower, really. The pictures on the internet didn't do it justice. Then again, they rarely did. Interestingly, the castle was built onto its own tower of stone with steep sides, separate from all other land and structures, looking as though it was rising from a sea of fog below. The only way in had been over a narrow bridge that had clearly only been built in the last maybe five years or so to make it accessible by car. "It is very tall."

"Everything is tall when you're a midget." Lavi's words were followed by a pronounced yelp when Allen stomped his block heel onto the redhead's toes in revenge.

"I'm average, smartass!" The words were a mere hissed whisper, but carried all the bite of a shark.

"Well its better than being a dumbass," Lavi rebuked under his breath, taking the lead in walking through the main gate with their arms hooked, trying hard not to visibly limp on the stomped foot.

All around the castle were walls at least three stories high, with equally tall iron gates. Between them was a segment of wall with a giant face of stone carved out of it that was both strange and unnerving. There were cameras mounted at the top of the walls, visible and obviously far newer than anything else outside. Various other cars were parallel parked into four rows, right up to the edge of the woods inside the walled courtyard.

They followed behind a few others who went inside ahead of them, passing through an old brick doorway and into a properly populated room. Surveying the sides of it, they could see no available open doors or passageways that weren't quartered off, keeping all visitors penned into the one room.

Someone was calling above the chatting crowd, asking that everyone wait patiently and not try to wander off anywhere until they were ready to start the official tour. Allen craned to see over the group at the speaker, a blond man whose hair spiked upward. The man went quiet again and his earlier announcement became lost under the rest of the chatter.

The wait was perhaps twenty minutes before the man raised his voice again.

"Attention please! Attention! ...ah, thank you," he tried, smiling when conversations subsided. "We appreciate all of your support coming to the grand opening of Black Order Castle. We're going to start giving grounds tours, about ten or fifteen maximum to each group. I'm Reever, I'll be giving one of the tours - over here are Johnny, Tap, Mr. Teidol, and our very own executive director, Komui Lee," Reever explained, motioning down the line to a geeky-looking male with tied-up brown hair and large glasses, a fat dark-skinned man with a hat that covered his eyes, a pale old man with graying hair and a very unkempt appearance, and lastly an unusually tall Asian who waved almost hyperactively at everyone with a face-splitting smile. "They'll each be heading their own tours as well."

"Hello everyone!" Komui greeted, idly adjusting his glasses. "If you could all be so kind as to break off into groups, that would be wonderful! I hope you're all as excited to be here today as we are. I can't wait to show you all everything our museum has to offer!"

Lavi couldn't help smirking even as people started trying to figure out who was going where, he and his white-haired companion content to stay out of the way until they all figured it out. "Talk about flamboyant. He makes us look straight."

Allen snorted, averting his gaze towards the ground and trying to fight a smile out of existence. "Shut your trap! We can't very well avoid unwanted attention if you're going to start blurting things like that and making me laugh!"

"Since when do I blurt?"

Allen gave him a withering stare. At the very least, it would silence Lavi for all of a minute. Two if miracles were real.

Allen tugged them towards one of the forming groups without another word, ending up - not entirely by accident - with Komui as their guide, who started off their little precession with a hand in the air like he was leading a marching band and simply forgot his wand, declaring, "This way, everyone~"

The two burglars-to-be chose a place solidly in the middle of the group with Komui leading the charge, rambling about this or that having to do with the structure and its history, a lot of which they could and had simply pulled from the promotional website already. Still, they needed to keep their heads down until they could catch sight of their goal.

"...-was finished some time around the late 18th and early 19th century," Komui was gushing. "It was commissioned by the prestigious Leverrier family at the time, though what its initial purpose was meant to be, we can only guess."

They exited the brick wall and entered what looked to be a cathedral with tall, stain-glass windows on the far side and checkerboard tiled floors.

"The Black Order was under the ownership of the Vatican, so its fair to assume that it was at least partially an institution of Christianity for a time. Due to the secretive nature of the people and structure, many rumors have sprung up over the last two centuries, including speculation that it was a place of cultists. Whether or not that was true is left up to the imagination now. More likely, it was a political and military center, and no small operation, either. In total, the castle spans twenty-one stories, thirteen of which are above ground."

Allen and Lavi perked slightly as Komui opened a door that led to stairs heading underground.

"You will all be getting to see ten of those floors today. Follow me~"

Exchanging a slightly suspicious glance (it paid to be cautious), they followed after the crowd, heading through concrete rooms that looked very clinical, like some sort of laboratory. There were glass jars, tubes, and dishes. Lavi especially was looking around as if he expected to see brains or eyeballs or tiny creatures entombed in old, discolored formaldehyde. There were plastic tubes and metal tools like scalpels and super long tweezers, and there were microscopes, Bunsen burners, and various other odds and ends.

Komui explained - little to their surprise - that it was a science room. A little more worrisome, the medical ward of the building was on the same floor adjacent to it, still lined in old beds with metal frames that looked like ones Allen had seen in pictures of abandoned asylums. The thought made him shiver and press closer to Lavi's side, unable to keep his imagination from concocting all sorts of reasons for the too-convenient placement.

Lavi lightly squeezed his arm, grounding him back to the present. He leaned his head lightly against the redhead's shoulder in silent appreciation.

The floor below that was another scientific research room, and once again far-too-conveniently, there were medical operating rooms. Allen was almost amazed he didn't see old blood stains anywhere. Everything was sterile, almost unnervingly so, more than even the most pristine hospital. He suspiciously sniffed the air, expecting to whiff chemical cleaners used to get rid of any evidence of committed horrors, but didn't detect any. He wasn't fool enough to believe that meant there hadn't been any.

The next descending floor was a little less kept up, and significantly colder. He noticed slots in the wall, lined in old pots, and a faded but distinctive smell that was impossible to miss, nauseatingly sulfurous but oddly sweet at the same time. Allen couldn't help glancing at Lavi, who had his lips pursed in a tight line and eyes fixed ahead.

"What is that smell?" Someone finally blurted.

"This," Komui began, Allen and Lavi already knowing the answer, "was the Black Order's crematorium. During the time it was built and operating, many people lived here, and whether by old age or other means-" Allen wondered if the _other means_ had anything to do with the previous scientific and medical rooms. "-bodies of course had to be dealt with in a sanitary manner. Most were stored here after burning."

"Why here and not a public cemetery or something? What were they doing here they couldn't be buried like most normal people?"

Komui opened his mouth to answer, but Lavi beat him to it.

"Probably for reasons too true to be spoken," he stated, eyes hard and impassable. "That goes especially for when families who still hold strong political influence are alive and well."

Everyone was silent, staring for several beats, before Komui merely pointed with a slightly relieved expression, saying "What he said."

"And what does that mean?" the person persisted.

Komui merely spun on his heel and kept walking, evasively repeating over his shoulder for the whole crowd to hear, "Exactly what he said!"

Allen fought a smirk, elbowing Lavi in the side as they followed and ignoring baffled stares. "Showoff."

"Am not," Lavi frowned. "It's basic logic."

Casting a glance at some of the other tourists who had yet to figure it out, Allen couldn't help returning, "Maybe if you've got an IQ above 120 it is."

"Now-" Komui began, leading them through another door into semi-darkness, beaming a smile at them as he leaned back against railing. "-this room is why you will all be visiting only ten floors of the Order, even though _technically_ you'll be seeing fourteen of them..."

"Oh, wow," Allen breathed, glancing over the railing. There were lights all around the edge walls of the chamber, but only enough to illuminate the area in patches of half-light traveling several stories down into the earth. Otherwise, it was simply a big black pit by which the bottom disappeared entirely below.

"Please do be careful not to push anyone over the railings trying to get a look," Komui cautioned the group. "That drop is about 34 meters... and there's no quick way back up from the bottom even if you survive." Somehow his tone sounded far too jovial as he said that.

"And this is all one big chamber?" Lavi marveled, receiving an affirmative nod. "What the Hell did they use it for? Dinosaur cloning?"

"Well... its unclear what the original purpose was or whether these chambers had any purpose at all when it was first built... however, there is some speculation that it was used to create military weapons against Germany during the World Wars and store supplies... some other guesses are that it was made into a safety shelter during the bombings of France, or as a place to train elite soldiers."

"That's intense," Lavi whistled. "So what business does a secretive military castle have opening up a museum?"

Komui led the way back the way they had come, momentarily passing another tour group.

"Well, as is common knowledge now, many art pieces disappeared throughout World War II as the Nazis expanded their influence. Some pieces - regrettably - were lost and have yet to be recovered. Luckily, quite a number made it here, against public knowledge, and they've been kept safe here since then, along with a few extras we managed to recover after the wars ended."

"So no one besides us even knows about it yet?" Lavi asked, surprised.

"Well... there are others who know. Important figures whose approval must be met and should know of it, of course."

"So you must have quite the collection here, then, huh?"

"Hmm... you could say that, yes."

From there, Komui led them through various other floors that held equipment and looked outfitted like a sort of dojo or gym and adjacent facilities. There was old machinery of varying types, weapons and tools on display, as well as placards with old photos - many of them black and white - and information text about the Black Order's long (and questionable) history.

Finally they arrived at a cafeteria and lounge area, where Komui announced a break in their tour for food, and then would continue in another half hour or so to the galleries, where they'd get to see the "Heart of Innocence".

The food was good, and the chef overly exuberant. Allen couldn't quite tell if the man loved his job that much or if he was flirting. He decided he'd regard it as the former and enjoy his meal unperturbed. He already had all the man he needed in his life anyway.

When they were done eating, they resumed with their tour, first perusing a room with various paintings on the refurbished walls, pristine ancient weaponry on display, a few statues, and antique utensils and dishes. Then they came to a library, which took up almost the entirely of the fifth floor.

Predictably, Lavi couldn't help but stare, his breathing coming forcibly controlled and his eyes sharp and dilated with an absolute need to find out _every last word_ written in every last tome there. Allen had to pinch him hard to earn back even a fraction of Lavi's attention and bring him back to reality.

"Control yourself!" Allen hissed. He could almost swear he heard a doggish whine rising in the back of the redhead's throat. He _knew_ for a fact he felt the older man wiggle a little in barely controlled temptation. Both of them knew there were about a grand total of three things that all the discipline and self-control in the world couldn't give Lavi the strength to resist - a _very_ profitable heist, really good sex...

And books.

The older and rarer, the more irresistible.

"...but there might never be a chance for me to read them again..." Lavi pleaded silently. "What if there aren't any other copies?"

"No."

And now came the pouting, complete with a quivering lip.

"J-just... a few..."

Allen gave his shoulder a harsh tug, threatening to pull it out of socket. "Focus!"

"I'm focusing..." Lavi protested in a mumble, still eye-balling the shelves. It went unspoken, but the clarifying _`focusing on the books that is`_ was obvious.

Allen glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear before leaning up towards Lavi's ear. "Eyes on the prize, or I swear I'll burn them all."

Lavi's jaw almost hit the floor. "You wouldn't..." Actually, he knew Allen well enough, and groaned.

Allen grinned. Oh, he definitely would. Mainly because he'd learned - the hard way - that the tactic of withholding sex wasn't going to cut it so long as unread books still existed in the world. He had to attack the source of Lavi's distraction directly(to be fair, the first and last time he'd burned one of Lavi's collections he'd at least had the decency to buy replacements afterwards - it got his point across though and Lavi never underestimated his willingness to do it since).

"...damn devil spawn..."

"Yes, but I'm the devil spawn keeping you in-line," Allen sing-songed back, craning up for a peck on the lips. "Now come on, the group's starting to move without us."

They continued on to the next gallery, which was likewise lined in all kinds of display cases. One in particular sat in the center of the room, encasing a green and gold-framed gem in the shape of a heart. The two of them separated and went about perusing the room, taking their time to scope things out separately and not making any big rush to go straight for the prize.

Allen was scanning and admiring other cases with similar high-value items and slowly worked his way towards the center case with the Heart of Innocence. He was going to head over and inspect it more closely when he stopped, seeing a figure standing right next to the case that he recognized.

The man was taller than him, with long black hair tied in a high ponytail and bangs framing his scowl-creased face, while both a Japanese sword and a pistol at his belt. Clearly, he was standing guard over the thing, surveying the room in slow, sharp fashion.

"Oh, _shite,_ " Allen swore under his breath, facing away quickly and hoping he hadn't already been noticed, pretending to be interested in one of the other displays around the gallery. He took out a face-powder case as if examining himself in the mirror and tried to catch the other man's reflection without looking over, just to be certain he hadn't been picked out of the crowd. Looked like he was safe for the moment.

Trying not to rush - and entirely unconvinced the guard-man couldn't hear his racing heartbeat a mile away - he left pretending to be interested in some other display from one of the other rooms and headed down back towards the fourth floor, whipping out his phone and texting Lavi on the way _[Problem. Bathroom. NOW]_.

He got there first and spent his waiting time pacing until Lavi finally arrived, walking quickly and looking concerned.

"What's the matter?"

"Its that fem-faced fishhead from Sree Padmanabhaswamy!" Allen ground out, stopping and running his fingers through his hair, messing up the styling. "The one with the long black hair and a glare that could instantaneously light babies on fire."

"Oh shit."

"That's what I said."

"Did he recognize you?"

"I don't know," Allen admitted, biting his lower lip. "...I don't think so. I tried to make sure he didn't notice me too much once I spotted him. If he saw me I think he just assumed I was an older woman or something. At least I _hope_ he did, since that was sort of the whole point." His white hair often led people to the assumption he was older than he was at first glance. When he dolled himself up in expensive furs and lots of make-up, no one even thought twice, easily passed off as simply being some older, financially distinguished individual who could afford great cosmetic work.

"So what do we do?" Lavi questioned. "I mean... I'm pretty sure he knows our faces... maybe not yours right now but he'd probably recognize mine in a heartbeat."

Allen sighed aloud, resisting the urge to run a hand down his face and smear his make-up. "Did you at least get the data you needed?"

"Well, not all of it... but I think I got the most important stuff anyway. Enough that we probably have a good chance, but we might end up coming across a few barriers if we just go straight ahead without any more information. I still needed to get a good look at some of the security hardware they're usin' though."

Allen hummed. "Do you need to get close to _it_ for that?" Allen wondered.

"I don't think so. It should all be on the same main system."

Allen nodded. "I think he's only guarding that one spot... since its probably their most valuable thing. So long as you keep out of his sight and to other areas, maybe you'll be fine." He hoped so anyway. They couldn't have one of their heists botched - _again_ \- because of this guy.

"So we'll just get our data fast as can be, analyze it on our own time, and then make chumps out of these guys before they ever know what hit 'em and go live it up for a few decades with the wealth this thing'll bring us." Lavi smiled with the utmost confidence. "Easy enough."

"Good man," Allen agreed, smacking either of Lavi's cheeks between both palms affectionately. "Its that thinking what got me to letting you put a cock up my arse. Let's get your data and get the Hell out of here."

* * *

Fun as it was at the time, Allen was glad to be rid of all the heavy make-up and styling gunk from his hair and take a nice, hot shower to calm his nerves. He hadn't expected to see that ebony-haired guard there. It had been nerve-wracking.

The last time they'd seen the man had been in India when they tried to make off with just a little bit of a newly discovered treasure hoard worth a trillion dollars. Just a _fraction_ of that would have set them for life, if not for that one hard-ass bastard. Luck wasn't entirely on their side.

Still, he was sure they'd managed to get in and out without being spotted and recognized. There were a few instances where it felt as though the man had been scrutinizing far too close for comfort, but there had been no confrontation or alarms raised. Hopefully that meant they would be in the clear - but there was another problem to consider, and that was that they would have to get past him somehow when they broke in after hours.

Allen hummed and closed his eyes with a sigh, letting hot water run over him in a soothing trickle. Would that guy even be on the grounds after hours? Surely he'd go home, or to bed, if he was up guarding their treasures all during the day. There could be other security that took his place though.

Would they be worse? Or lax because they assumed no one would really bother?

Preferably, it would be the latter scenario.

Finishing with his shower, Allen turned off the water, dried off, and dressed himself before stepping into the living room with a towel over his shoulders. Lavi was sitting over at the dining table with papers scattered everywhere and a laptop screen next to his face, the sound of scratching accompanied by broad strokes of a pencil.

Allen said nothing, not wanting to - or probably able to - distract the redhead from what he was doing. The squared shoulders and hunched neck like a hunting dog poised in a pointing stance told him that Lavi was entirely lost to his own concentration. Allen glanced the drawings, all of them circles with various lines and shapes etched throughout the inside. On the computer was a similar theme, dash-lines like a trail more or less traveling winding patterns that ultimately formed a circle. It was a system Lavi developed himself, a sort of tracking device.

Between that and the redhead's eidetic memory, he could draw up a nearly exact blueprint map after just one visit. Allen had no idea how the redhead managed to do it time and again, but he certainly wasn't complaining. It made everything a _lot_ easier.

Allen went about making them some fresh tea, skirting around behind the redhead as he continued to scribble and mark like someone possessed in a cheesy doomsday film, the light of calculation in his one eye. Allen was almost surprised he didn't start see smoke coming out of Lavi's ears.

Finding an open space the papers didn't occupy, he set a cup of tea down and draped himself over Lavi's shoulders.

"Gonna be much longer?"

"Hng?" Lavi grunted distractedly. "Oh... uh... yea... yeah probably."

"Don't stay up all night, ya?" Allen mused, kissing his cheek. "We have time."

"I'll try not to."

Just watching the redhead tirelessly plugging away at the work was pushing Allen's exhaustion over the edge, wandering off towards bed. He idly envisioned to himself having a nice, warm snuggle before he fell asleep when Lavi would eventually sneak into bed with him, but honestly he would probably be unconscious as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He shrugged to himself. Oh well. He could always get his cuddles in in the morning.

Only staying up long enough to sip down his own cup of warm tea, he collapsed onto the bed, and just as predicted, he was out in a second.

* * *

Lavi finally heaved himself onto a ledge wide enough that he could roll onto his back and catch his breath. The sun had set only maybe an hour ago, but it felt like all night had already gone by. Maybe because climbing a negative eighty-five degree slope was miserable.

He flinched as stony grit rained down, swiveling onto his side and spitting out sand and gravel bits before squinting upward. Dislodged bits aside, Allen was doing just fine, finding places to hook his fingers and toe of his shoes and scale up without much effort.

Lavi had _no_ idea how he managed to do it. He'd guess it was those corded arms and lean thighs of steel, which he was getting a very good view of right now.

"Oi, maybe once you're done ogling my buttocks you'll actually learn to climb."

"I wasn't ogling your rear," Lavi protested, carefully inching his way up to stand and trying to resume his climb, ignoring the little voice in the back of his mind that kept feeling to need to remind him how high up they were.

"Oh really now?"

"Yeah, really," Lavi retorted. " _Technically_ I was ogling your upper leg."

"Oh, because that's much different?" Allen deliberately dislodged a loose stone with his foot to fall on Lavi's head, sewing annoyance.

"Like night and day, beansprout!"

" _Allen!_ " the Brit corrected. "Keep up with that bloody nickname and I'll sic Tim on you!"

"Oh yeah..." Lavi drawled. "I'm just trembling at the idea of being attacked by an eagle named _Tim_. Terrifying. Seriously, who the Hell gives a bird of prey that kind of name?"

"Wasn't my idea, I just inherited him. Now shut your gob and _climb_."

Within the next half hour or so, Allen managed to find the very top. Lavi took another five or so minutes to reach him, taking an offered hand that pulled him the rest of the way over the edge so he could finally collapse and take a breather. Allen gave him an amused smile, kneeling next to him with the shape of his bird sitting on his shoulder.

"You're not dropping dead on me now, are you?"

"...maybe... I... will..." Lavi wheezed between breaths. "If I do, you keep that damn raptor away from my corpse."

"Maybe I won't."

"You know the cliff edge is close enough to still push you off it."

Allen laughed under his breath. "Try it. See what happens."

Once Lavi recovered from the climb, they crept along the greenbelt that bordered the outside of the facility and crouched in the brush, peeking out towards the tall iron gates. They'd already discussed earlier the security set-up, and that the system was an independent one somewhere deep in the castle itself. That left them doing things - as Lavi put it - 'the old-fashioned way'.

"Alright, Tim, you're up," Allen whispered, launching the eagle into the air. When Allen spotted the bird flitting through the dark above, he aimed a laser pointer at the mounted security cameras watching the front, one at a time. The golden eagle pounced on each one in rapid succession and rendered them useless as Allen pointed to one after the other.

"That should do it," Lavi grinned. He'd never thought before meeting Allen of using a falconry bird to disable security systems, training it to attack whatever he indicated using something as simple as a laser pointer. It was very low-tech, but also effective. He patted Allen on the shoulder. "Let's go."

Dropping down an old-style grappling hook with four prongs, Lavi twirled it around by a thick climbing cord and let it fly up over the wall, testing its hold with a few excessive tugs, and then his full weight low on the wall with another few bounces, before climbing up to the top. Allen waited until he'd reached the top to make sure it was still secure, then followed when Lavi waved from the top. After checking for any more cameras on the other side, getting down was a little easier.

"Alright, so any minute, someone should be coming down to check the cameras," Lavi hummed as they crouched in hiding. It was maybe fifteen minutes before a door on the ground floor opened and someone walked out, looking around. There was a loud beep and the man raised something to his mouth.

"I don't see anything of immediate concern. No idea what that could have been..."

Allen waited until their head was turned and briefly flashed his laser pointer at the man's head, rewarded when Tim dropped from the sky with a screech, causing the figure to scream in surprise and duck away. Allen had a hard time resisting a fit of giggles. _Good boy, Tim._

"Hey Chief! I think I found our problem- Agh, get lost!" He swatted the eagle away as Tim took another swoop and then flew away to dive again. There was a crackly voice on a walkie-talkie, followed by an irate growl. "Looks like we got a bird problem. I guess it doesn't like our cameras or something-" He paused again to duck away from diving talons. "-Or me!" There was another beep and crackled voice. "Yeah... I'll go take a look-see at how much damage it managed to do. I told you we should've put those anti-bird spikes up."

While the man was distracted, they snuck around the edge of the building and slipped inside, taking a cautious look around for others and finding themselves alone.

"Alright, now there's more cameras inside, some of them are avoidable but there's nothin' we can do about the ones that aren't for now. So long as we try to look like we belong walkin' the halls, we should be fine at least for a while. We'll try to reach the security room and fry their systems, then go after the grand prize. Security system first - then we can go guns-blazing."

Allen nodded, lacing his fingers and stretching. "Let's hope luck is on our side tonight then, right?"

"Not about luck," Lavi grinned. "Its about who's got the best plans in place."

* * *

Kanda yawned and rubbed the back of his stiff neck, trying to work the kinks out of it. He'd nodded off for just a moment with his shoulders leaned back against a wall for support and now he was regretting it with sore muscles. It was definitely time to call it quits.

Palming his face and massaging the pits of his eyes, he walked the halls and staircases towards the 7th and 8th security floors. He'd already done a sweep of the rest of the building, everything from the 6th floor gallery to the big open pit on floor B4 and back up again. It wasn't strictly necessary at this hour, and Black Order castle had some impressively tight security with its location and structure alone, but he took his job very seriously.

Besides, he had a feeling he needed to be vigilant, and he didn't disbelieve his sharp instincts. He'd kept a wary eye on everyone who came to visit the gallery during the many hours it was open, scrutinizing every individual with the utmost care. For some reason two stood out to him the most, but he couldn't place exactly why - but a vague memory teased him like a tickling itch that was just out of reach.

What was it...?

He pondered it as he went, thinking that if maybe he focused on it long enough, he'd remember what bothered him so badly. He only paid enough attention to the 7th floor as he passed through it to notice it was empty. He supposed Link and Fou were out doing their rounds. The 8th floor was a little more occupied and busy than he expected it to be, keyboards clicking and chairs rolling as people bustled about.

"Something happen?" Kanda gruffed, earning the attention of Komui and Lenalee.

"Seems that a bird attacked some of our outdoor cameras," Komui hummed speculatively. "An owl or something... he said it might even be an eagle but I'm not sure what one would be doing out after dark."

"Reever's checking it out now," Lenalee added.

Kanda's eyes lazily scanned the monitors, three of them out completely, one that looked like it had a damaged lens, and another that was swinging slightly and facing nothing of importance, probably hanging from its cords.

"That many of them?" He stopped at the desk and squinted. "You're sure a bird did that?"

"Yeah. We saw it on one of the cameras just before it went to static."

"Let me see it," Kanda commanded, resting his palm on the edge of the computer desk. Komui shrugged and played one of the tapes. Sure enough, Kanda saw a flying shape roughly the size of a large owl or eagle dive down and then up at the camera, landing on it. He also - however - saw something else. "Hold on, rewind it for a moment."

Komui blinked in surprise and did as he was told, playing it again while Kanda leaned close. When he saw a brief, faint flash, like a light pointing straight at the camera, he smashed a finger against the screen, pointing. "There! See it? Play it one more time." They did, and spotted it a little more than they had before. Kanda scowled suspiciously. "How much do you want to bet that wasn't coincidence?"

Without waiting for anyone's answer, Kanda spun on his heel for the door, shooting over his shoulder, "Tell the rest of the security team to be on the lookout and to do another full sweep. We might have a breach."

Suddenly that teasing memory seemed more important than before. He had a feeling it had everything to do with whatever was about to happen, and it wasn't difficult to imagine what that might be.

But that was why _he_ was here.

It was his job to protect the safety of the staff and of the castle's wealth, and he absolutely never failed.

God or some higher power save whatever dumbass had thought it would be a good idea to sneak in to the museum tonight.

* * *

The first door Allen and Lavi opened had no one on the other side, though there were computers and other equipment behind storage cages. Slipping through the halls had been easy enough - Lavi had drawn up their maps in their hotel room and had the routes and camera positions memorized. The most difficult part had been not knowing patrol routes, but they'd managed to dodge around what few security personnel there were.

They sauntered to the other side of the room and paused, leaning against the door and using a cup to listen for people on the other side. There were a few voices, so Allen nodded and they both stepped back and synched the timing of their kicks.

"No one move!"

The whole room of occupants jumped at once in surprise, but they weren't going to nitpick the _don't move_ over that. The most successful robbery was the one unaccompanied by additional murder charges.

Komui stared at them long and hard with knitted brows, the light of recognition in his eyes, more so when he stared at Lavi, though his eyes lingered over Allen the longest. Likely he hadn't realized at the time the dolled up woman on Lavi's arm during the tour hadn't been female.

"You're-"

"Pleasure to see ya again," Lavi quipped, cocking back the hammer of his gun with an audible click. "Y'gave a nice tour. We noticed a few souvenirs we wanted to take home with us, but lo and behold - no gift shop. Maybe consider installing one in the future."

Clearly the humor wasn't appreciated.

Someone off to the side moved aside slightly, and Lavi had a second gun that he drew from a holster at his thigh, pointing it dead-center on them with a sharp, "Ah! I said not to move."

"What do you want us to do?" Komui demanded, jumping straight to the point.

"Surrender peacefully," Allen supplied, keeping his own weapons trained without wavering. "We want valuables, not your lives."

"And you guarantee that if we do, you won't harm any of us?"

Allen gave a sweet, disarming smile that could put nearly anyone at ease regardless of the circumstances, one of the most powerful weapons at his disposal. "I guarantee it... so long as no one tries to be heroic."

Komui looked reluctant to obey, but he wasn't given much choice over the matter, and there was a knowledgeable fear in his eyes that doing anything to rebel was a bad choice to make. There was clear doubt that he believed they would shoot and kill, but it didn't appear he was going to chance it either way.

"Very well. Just tell us where to move to and what to do."

They pointed towards chairs in the room, the kind without wheels. "Everyone takes a seat, and you-" Lavi paused to reach for a roll of duct tape from the bag he'd brought, tossing it to the man. "-are going to secure them for us, until its your turn. Make it quick, too. No stalling so that your security team can make it back."

Komui merely nodded with pursed lips, obeying their orders as both youth kept their weapons fixed on him and the other three the entire time. Once the other three were secured, Allen stood poised to shoot while Lavi taped Komui to the chair and tested the rest to make sure they really were taped down tightly enough.

Finally able to relax a little, they holstered their guns and went to the security monitors set up along the wall, Lavi's eye scanning over the computers and buttons. Lavi laced his fingers into a stretch and immediately started clicking away, trying to figure out what sort of security they were up against. Almost immediately, he got slapped with a restricted screen requiring a password.

"This is a localized, closed circuit security system, ya?" Lavi asked conversationally. "No landlines or wireless signals going to a third party?" Komui remained silent, up until Lavi reminded, "Remember, you and your staff's safety depends on your cooperation."

The man blew out a low breath. "That's right... we have our own full intranet systems. Other than phone lines, there's nothing outgoing or incoming," Komui confirmed unhappily. "If you don't know already intimately your way around the system and its barriers, you won't get anywhere in any timely manner either. I built it myself to be nearly impossible to crack, all the way down to the hard code layers."

Lavi whistled. " 'knew there was more reason for you bein' here other than playing tour guide. And this is where all the security information goes? Camera feeds and such? What about back-up servers?"

"If you want, I can tell you how to reach just the part of the system for the camera feeds. You want the footage destroyed, am I right?"

"Wow, you're sure a sharp one." Lavi smiled, single eye momentarily following Allen as the younger male searched through papers on counters and in drawers and cabinets. " 'won't be necessary though. Oi, 'sprout, found it yet?"

"I swear, I will hit you so hard..." Allen warned, giving Lavi a threatening look over his shoulder. Lavi shrugged shamelessly.

"Well we can't go throwing around each other's names, now can we? Gotta call you something."

"I'm still going to hit you for it. Found it! Looks like there's back-up servers past that door..."

"Here," Lavi said, handing something large, black, and metallic to him. "You get those other ones. I'll take care of this one."

Komui looked between them as Allen walked to the other door, disappearing past it. The look on his face was one of pure horror when he realized what they had were large magnets. "Wait- you can't be serious! I said I'd tell you how to delete the footage-"

"Sorry, man," Lavi sympathized, a hint of sincerity in his voice. "-but we aren't taking the chance. Its all gotta go."

The sound Komui made when Lavi started running the magnets over all the machinery and frying the software was something between a strangled sob and a banshee-like scream, throwing the biggest man-tantrum the redhead had ever heard as he kicked his legs and rocked his chair back and forth onto only two legs at a time in distress.

"No! Not my precious Komulin system! My baby! My life's work! Why?! Why?! Why?!"

"Bloody fuck, I thought you were murdering someone in here," Allen mused, appearing back in the room hastily at the sound of Komui's wailing.

"But it is murder!" Komui cried dramatically, a waterfall of tears cascading down his face. "My perfect system! Gone! Forever! I'll never make another like it..."

"I think you broke him..." Allen mumbled, wincing at the sound. Many things he'd expected to result from their heist, but a full grown man sobbing and nearly hyperventilating as if someone just killed his mother - over lost computer software - was not one of them.

" _We_ , 'sprout. _We_ broke him. You don't get to dodge involvement, partne- _ow!_ " He ducked away and cradled his ribs where they throbbed from a well-placed elbow.

" _That_ was for the nickname, _Rabbit_."

Lavi merely grinned shamelessly. Having destroyed the surveillance software down to a mere paperweight, they quickly left the security room, wiping the rest of the computers in the floor directly below, and then headed towards the gallery with a set of keys for the doors inside. Immediately, they both zeroed in on the display case in the immediate center of the room first, circling around it and finding the locked hatch of the wood pedestal.

Opening it up was easy enough, and Lavi again ran a magnet over the security device inside to disable it before Allen lifted the glass to reach the gemstone inside.

"What'd I tell ya? Piece of cake," Lavi couldn't help boasting.

Allen rolled his eyes affectionately. "Just don't get cocky. We aren't out yet."

"I know, I know," Lavi assured, standing and going to the next display case, aiming only for things that were small enough for their bag but highly valuable. The Heart of Innocence itself would bring them a fortune, but there was no reason to pass up whatever else they could nab with the time they had left to grab-and-go. Allen stood by as his look-out while he worked, managing to get another eight cases open and cleared out before Allen tensed and placed a hand on his shoulder for his attention.

Lavi glanced up to see the black-haired security guard glaring at them from the doorway, drawing his pistol. Allen already had his own drawn, and Lavi was quick to whip out his own as he leapt to his feet, the two of them circling to opposite directions, so they wouldn't be directly next to each other and easy to target.

"I knew I saw someone familiar... the two treasure thieves from India."

"Fancy seeing you here, Fem-face," Allen sneered, satisfied to see a vein pop along the man's forehead and dark eyes narrow. "Your last masters not pay you enough?"

"You failed last time," the Japanese man scoffed, not allowing them to bait recklessness with their words. "Your results won't be any better this time."

"This isn't the same as the last time," Lavi retorted, smiling guardedly. "This time we actually took you into account. The advantage is on our side."

"Is it?" Kanda challenged with an arrogant calmness.

"Why don't you find out for yourself, _Yuu_."

Kanda's eyes grew wide and surprised, which quickly melted into outrage. " _Don't_ call me that, unless you want me to lodge one in that only eye of yours!"

"Is that right?" Lavi hummed, side-stepping closer while Allen circled from the other side, making Kanda dart his eyes between them. "I'm not so sure your skills are quite that up to par... _Yuu_."

Kanda's eye ticked, and he lifted his gun to aim at the redhead as if he was going to shoot him dead, both Allen and Lavi moving at the same time, but Kanda changed his target at the last second and whirled on Allen, firing a shot just past his ear.

Allen cursed under his breath and threw himself aside, behind one of the wooden pedestals for the displays.

Lavi lunged at Kanda, the raven-haired man whirling back on him and grazing his side. The redhead hissed, but didn't stop, tackling Kanda through the doorway and grappling, one hand grabbing the man's armed wrist as they struggled. The kick aimed at his groin wasn't quite so effective since he'd come wearing a protective cup, he and Kanda twisting and trying to flip on top of the other to gain the upper hand.

Luckily, though it was only slight, Lavi was the larger of the two, and he had plenty of experience rolling and flipping his position thanks to Allen. When Kanda managed to get just enough leverage to throw him and roll on top, Lavi kept the momentum going and ran a knee into the other's gut when he came out on top again, forcing the air out of him.

Still, it wasn't enough to incapacitate, Kanda drawing a forced breath, wincing slightly as he did so, and knocked faces hard enough to make Lavi see stars for a moment.

Kanda managed to push the redhead off and wiggle backwards, trying to spring to his feet, but wasn't quite quick enough when Allen came charging at him and sprung, kicking Kanda's arm off-course when he tried to aim a shot for the white-haired man's leg. A heel sharply planted on his wrist, hard enough that it may have fractured, and he hissed.

He gave the arm a yank, hoping to offset Allen's balance and the other's footing, but Allen easily backstepped and lunged again to kick, this time towards his face. Kanda angled himself away, the toe of the other's shoe brushing the side of his head, but otherwise it was an inconsequential hit.

Allen was adjusting his stance as his leg landed and readying another kick towards his head, and Kanda draw his sword with the opposite hand in one fluid motion, jamming it upwards into the white-haired male's left shoulder, satisfying him with a choked hiss of pain and a small trickle of red down the edge blade. The satisfaction only lasted for a moment when the redhead recovered and struck him over the head with the butt of the man's pistol twice in rapid succession, making it his turn to see stars.

He felt a tug on his arm and the blade, and his sword fall, dislodged from the other man's shoulder. Once he managed to recover from the stun from the blow and start to get up, the two thieves were already disappearing well down the hall, and he scrambled up to pursue them.

They managed to stay just ahead of him as they ran down the corridors and down flights of stairs back towards the entrance, knowing exactly where to go, and just as they were nearing the foyer entrance, he heard gunshots, picking up his pace. When he reached the foyer, Fou and Link were there, each with a non-lethal bullet wound, with neither of the thieves anywhere in-sight.

"Where did they go?!" he barked, already having an idea, but he didn't want to waste time chasing them down the wrong hallway in case he was wrong.

"They ran out the front," Fou hissed, wincing at her wounds. He tore towards the front door, bursting out into the courtyard without pause, and saw the two of them jumping into one of the other staff's - Johnny's, he thought - car, cranking the ignition.

The car lights came on, and immediately they shoved it in reverse. Kanda swore loudly and threw himself out of the way as it screeched towards him, coming to a dead stop that rocked the whole vehicle on its haunches, and then sped forward towards the single open gate. Kanda chased after it and waved his arms towards Reever, shouting for him to move his ass and shut the damn gate _now_.

Too late, the car already blazed through, missing the blond Australian by maybe two feet and went speeding over the bridge and away, with no way of catching up to it now. He could only imagine the little victory party they were already having inside the stolen vehicle right this instant.

* * *

And celebrating their victory they were, both Allen and Lavi whooping and hollering in joyous victory, throwing back middle fingers over their shoulders for good measure. Allen's cheering was interrupted by a hiss of pain as his shoulder panged sharply and he dropped his arm to his lap, clutching the bleeding wound with a grimace. Lavi sobered instantly, flicking his single uncovered eye between the road and Allen in concern.

"You okay?"

"Yeah... fucking fishhead just managed to cut me good, that's all. I don't think he hit anything vital... but I'm already feeling lightheaded."

"Should I stop somewhere?" Lavi questioned, giving him a worried look. Allen waved him off. "Nah. Just keep driving, and try not to get anyone's attention... 'least until we can get somewhere no one'd pay us any mind. I'll find something to stem the bleeding."

"Alright... but let me know if it starts getting bad..." Lavi insisted. The younger male offered him an easy smile.

"So you can play doctor?"

Lavi cracked a smirk. "I'll have you know I don't _play_ doctor. I do actually know what I'm doing!"

"Well I should hope so," Allen grunted as he laid the seat back and twisted his body around to rummage for a cloth or something to press against his wound. "...because I really don't have other options."

The car fell into silence for a while, Allen getting comfortable and trying to bounce back from the blood loss, Tim sitting at his feet, while Lavi drove around and kept an eye out for trouble and where they should go.

"Once we're sure we've lost the trail, we should ditch the car somewhere it won't be found easily... maybe even shove it off into a river or something. We've got the bike still, right?"

"Yeah," Allen replied tiredly, yawning. The events and wound were catching up with him now, but he felt content. They'd pulled off their heist. Now all that was left was to skip out of the country and they were home free. "So I guess we go pick that up, get rid o' the car, and get the Hell out of town before the cops start their chase, right?"

"That about sums it up," Lavi confirmed.

They drove for a while longer, Allen nodding off in the meantime. Once they reached their destination, Lavi woke him and they each drove one vehicle, Lavi taking the motorcycle and Allen driving the car until they could find an isolated spot near a body of deep water. Anything they needed to take, they unloaded from vehicle to their bike, changed gears on the car, and let it roll itself downhill and into the water, watching it sink below the surface before they took off down the road on their new mode of transportation, just as dawn was starting to fully bloom into morning, only waiting long enough for Lavi to do a quick patch-job on Allen's shoulder before they left.

Allen half-napped with his arms wrapped around Lavi's stomach, using the redhead's back as a pillow, while Tim was secured in a box carrier on the back of the bike with a hole just big enough to stick his head out of. By afternoon, they reached an industrial train yard, hanging out at the edges where they wouldn't be immediately noticed by workers, waiting for a chance to hitch a ride on one of the cars.

They had to wait a good hour before seeing a chance with a train that was only moving maybe a few miles per hour and had cargo cars, hurrying to match pace with it and get on. Lavi let Allen climb up first and then ran alongside the train with the motor bike, lifting it to push up into the car with Allen helping him to pull it up, and then jumped up into it himself, sliding the side-door shut once they and their bike were all accounted for inside.

Both let out matching chuckles as they finally let themselves collapse, even though the metal floor of the train car wasn't terribly comfortable. Still, it would take them far away and they could find a proper place to rest wherever they ended up. In the meantime, they were free to curl up together, at least able to share in each other's body heat even if the train car itself was cold to the touch.

"I still can't believe we actually managed to pull that off," Allen purred, nuzzling against Lavi's chest with half-lidded eyes. "And with so few hitches, too."

Lavi smiled against the top of his head, holding him snuggly. "That's because we're such a great duo." The smile turned into somewhat of a grin. "Admit it: you'd totally be lost without me."

Allen rolled his eyes, reaching up to pinch and pull the redhead's cheek. "Oh, _I'd_ be lost without _you_ , huh?"

Even as he winced, Lavi continued to smile. "...well it might go just a little bit both ways..."

"Don't you have a high opinion of yourself, you ginger mutt?"

"Well narcissistic qualities tend to accompany higher levels of intelligence..." Lavi pointed it.

"That your way of justifying it?"

"It's merely a simple fact," Lavi shrugged, pecking him on the forehead.

Allen sighed softly and rested his head down, letting himself relax fully at last. The rattling sensation and sound of the train tracks was starting to lull him. Already exhaustion was coming back, clinging to every last scrap of his body, but emotionally, he felt invigorated.

"Maybe now I'll finally be able to pay off all of those debts and have some left to just... start over clean. Say _adios_ to the problems that damn man creates everywhere he goes and just live my own free life together with you, without any cares in the world. The two of us simply settling down somewhere comfortable until it all runs out." He closed his eyes to knuckles gently brushing over his cheeks, caressing his face affectionately.

"Yeah... we'll find somewhere quiet where we won't be bothered... maybe even just change everything and live it up. Just the two of us."

Allen hummed sleepily. "...don't forget about Tim, too... but yeah, just like that... nothing would make me happier."

* * *

 _Five Years Earlier..._

Allen made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat.

His entire day had comprised of crying his eyes out in front of a lawman who'd detained him for having been caught for illegal activities, spewing out some big sob story to the effect of _'Please have mercy on me, I'm just a poor orphan boy who's had to depend on my terrible Master who abuses me and forces me into crime, I've had a hard life and people who take advantage to corrupt me for their dark purposes, woe is me_ or some such bullocks until he finally managed to win their sympathies and be let to go free while the country police went on a hunt to find this 'crime lord Master' of his and bring him to justice.

Good fucking luck actually finding him though, especially when the lead Allen gave them before being sent on his merry way was false.

Of course, that wasn't what disgusted him so much. Every so often he had to manipulate his way out of being thrown in jail or facing some kind of legal punishment. That was just how it tended to work. Eventually you got caught for _something_ , and he was quite practiced at making himself sympathetic and getting off scott-free.

No, what disgusted him was that, when he finally tracked his godfather down, it was in a halfway decent club surrounded by women and fine wine, living it up as if he was the richest man in the world, when in truth he had no money at all to his name, and paying off that debt was going to eventually fall on _his_ \- Allen's - shoulders. He wouldn't have to be so damn good at talking his way out of criminal charges at only fifteen if his only adult guardian wasn't so bloody fucking irresponsible.

As soon as he spotted the older red-haired man at one of the tables, he snuck around the man's blind spot, finding the fullest unattended pitcher of water that he could on the way there, and dumped the entire thing over Cross's head from behind, before smacking him with it to boot.

Cross was still for a moment, then turned with the most peeved expression, which melted then into something like recognition and unconcern when he saw who it was.

"Oh... there you are."

Allen's brow ticked. He tried to keep the manners Mana had taught him as a child at the forefront of his mind, but it didn't work to keep him from grabbing Cross by the collar of his shirt.

" _'There you are?'_ Do you have any idea what I've been through today? Huh?!" He thought maybe he saw a slight light of intimidation there, but he may have imagined it.

"Well, you're here and in one piece now, aren't you?"

Oh, how Allen wanted to clean his clock right now. "No thanks to you!"

Cross nonchalantly peeled his fingers loose, unsympathetic. "You can handle yourself at your age - and clearly, you handled it - so there's no more issue. Take a load off. Enjoy the club." Cross smiled unashamedly and hooked an arm over one of the women around him. "...maybe go find something you like while you're here, take the edge off your nerves."

Once again, Allen scoffed, disgusted, and stormed off.

He knew what Cross was suggesting, but he wasn't terribly interested. It was bad enough he had to be the one to pick up the expenses, developing bad habits for the sake of survival out the yin-yang, but he certainly wasn't going to parade around being a shameless man-whore to everything with two legs and an opening that passed him by too.

That was one habit he swore he'd _never_ pick up.

Walking to the bar, Allen took a seat and requested lemon water, sitting and mulling in negativity over exactly _how_ \- out of all the seven billion people in the world - he'd managed to get stuck with _Marian Cross_ as a guardian(and he used the word very loosely in relation to his godfather). He started to wonder if maybe he should simply leave, go find somewhere else to be for a while, but he caught the eye of a redhead he hadn't noticed at the bar earlier.

And he did quite literally mean 'caught the _eye_ ' - singular. Oddly enough, the other male - who looked maybe a couple years older than himself - wore an eye-patch on the right side. It immediately stirred curiosity and questions on why he needed it, or if he even needed it at all. In hindsight, he should have remembered his own appearance - white hair and scar over his eye - often earned a similar reaction.

The redhead had a clear interest in him too, sneaking a few indiscreet glances, before finally appearing to decide to come over and chat him up. Allen couldn't help but wonder if the other assumed he was a girl, or wasn't sure if he was or not, especially in a club that served alcohol. Even for as leanly muscular as he was, he tended to have more feminine-deemed qualities in a lot of people's opinions.

"Hey there, you here all by yourself?" It couldn't be any clearer the guy was already trying to flirt with him if he'd screamed his intentions.

Allen scoffed softly. "Unfortunately not." After a moment's pause and a questioning look, he motioned over to the far table where Cross was. "My godfather has terrible taste in family locales."

The redhead smiled in a way that was both understanding and mischievous. Allen couldn't fail to notice how sharp his green eye was, taking in and processing all kinds of information in an instant.

"Ah... dragged you along as his reluctant third wheel? I'm kinda the opposite - came here to escape my old man. He's kind of a hard-ass, so I run out to places like this when I need to unwind. Just a matter of time 'til he finds me, but for the moment at least, I can enjoy myself. So do you live around here?"

"No," Allen huffed. "We don't really stick around anywhere for long. Maybe a few months at most... if I'm lucky."

"Oh, yeah? I know how that is. Honestly we're pretty much the same way. Gramps is always movin' us from one place to another. I mean... its not bad, and I'm used to it."

"Wish I could say the same," Allen hummed, before laughing lightly. "...about it not being bad, that is. My godfather has no sense when it comes to money. I think I'm just glad when we manage to get a hotel room." There was no harm in saying that to a stranger he'd never see again, right?

"That sounds rough. Gramps... I mean, he's pretty stuffy and all-business, but he always makes sure we're taken care of wherever we end up, which is pretty good considering how spontaneous we go around to different places."

"Well that's lucky for you, at least," Allen mused. "Any reason you guys travel around so much?" Clearly it wasn't for the same reason - running from debt collectors and law enforcement alike - so he couldn't help wondering why this other person would travel around as much as he probably did.

"Ah, well... we're sort of like archeologists... treasure seekers... that kinda thing. We go all over the world over it, and our finds usually bring us a decent amount of money, you know? Oh! By the way - name's Lavi. How about you, cutie?"

Allen almost sputtered at the last bit. He'd known the redhead was trying to flirt with him from the start, but it still managed to catch him off-guard. "...Allen..."

Lavi grinned, appearing amused by the slightly taken aback expression. "Its good t' meet ya!"

They dissolved into conversation from there, talking about this or that for a good couple of hours - mostly about each other and the things they did(though Allen may have smudged just a little) - since there was little else to do and they were simply trying to pass the time enjoyably. Allen had no qualms about having pleasant company, and Lavi radiated positive energy and humor like a light bulb emitted warmth.

Mostly the conversation was light and platonic, but at some point the focus shifted, with Lavi being the first to switch topics, questioning if Allen wanted to go off somewhere more private with a suggesting little nudge of his knee. Allen was - understandably, in his own opinion - a little wary of that and the implication behind it. He wasn't some easy whore, and he certainly wasn't his godfather.

Lavi insisted on an answer, albeit tentatively, but made his intentions rather transparent. He just wanted something fun to do to pass the time for a night, and Allen seemed nice enough - both physically and otherwise - that had him attracted.

After some consideration, Allen shrugged. Really though, why not? It wasn't as if he made a habit of it, and it wasn't as if it would be his very first time. He was annoyed and stressed thanks to Cross. Maybe a little bit of outlet would do him some good, and Lavi seemed a nice enough guy. Either way, it wasn't like they were talking about a relationship here, just two guys looking for a good time out trying to escape their problems.

"Alright, do you have a place we can go?"

"Well... I can tell you my place is out. No way I could get away with this with my old man around," Lavi laughed uncomfortably. "You said you guys have a hotel room?"

"Mm, yeah, but my godfather will probably want to use it for his own take-home company..." Allen hummed.

Lavi shrugged. "Well, we can always rent out another room just for us. My treat?"

"Hey, if you're paying, I have no complaints," Allen chuckled.

"Awesome!" Lavi declared. "Then let's just do that. Good plan?"

"Sure," Allen shrugged, not caring either way. At any rate, it would be a nice change of pace, and he could defend himself if need be. They walked from the club to the hotel where he and Cross were staying, Lavi ordering a one-night room for them both to share. It was nice, at least not having to be the one responsible for the bill for once.

The room was above the ground floor, so they had to take an elevator up. Just after the doors shut and it started to move, Lavi slid his arms around Allen's shoulders and gently swayed, nosing Allen's neck and ghosting breath over his skin. Allen didn't fail to notice something poking his back end from between the redhead's flush hips, and a soft nip to his nape sent pleasant tingles down his spine.

The elevator pinged and the doors slid open on the floor they needed, Lavi still having his arms wrapped around Allen as they walked forward, making for a very awkward challenge to reach their room. Maybe the redhead really needed to hide the boner he was sporting from public view, but Allen wasn't quite sure that doing it _this_ way was really helping his case.

The redhead waited patiently for him to get the key and unlock the door for them to go inside, but once the door was shut and secured behind them, all bets and patience were off, and Allen immediately found himself pressed facing against a wall, teeth assaulting his nape and hands wandering his body. He didn't mind that. In fact, he reciprocated it, arching his body to fit the curve of Lavi's and bracing against the cool surface as a hand went down the front of his pants and grabbed him roughly.

At the time, he didn't think much of it. They were just two strangers who met at the bar, and as far as he was concerned, it was just a one-night fling to relieve a lot of built up tension with someone who probably had the same idea in their mind. He figured they'd have a night of pleasant sex, and in the morning they'd leave like it never happened, maybe one of them would even sneak off in the morning without even a goodbye.

He never thought that they'd get together again, talk again, have sex again. Never had it crossed his mind that they would become repeat bed partners, or that they'd talk more honestly to each other about their respective trades in thievery be it money or treasures apprenticing under their older guardians, or that they would turn out to be such great and loyal partners in said crime, be it breaking in somewhere to steal something quietly or rob a place at gun-point together.

He had never foreseen that, six months in, Lavi would go and look for the most _absolutely perfect_ ring he could find in all of Europe, and then - once the redhead found it - rob the place just after closing and present it to Allen to propose, that he wanted to be more than just comrades in crime or friends-with-benefits, much less that he wanted a committed life together. That they would stay together for years without falling back out of love when the 'honeymoon' stage wore off.

He never expected it to all to be as wonderful as it was.

Above all, he just never expected it to _work_.

Maybe, just part of it, was exactly as he'd told himself before. He was not a man-whore like Cross, and he was determined never to be one. He'd taken a chance on Lavi, but maybe he'd known - or at least hoped - that they would pan out as something more than just two strangers having a stress fling.

He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but maybe he didn't have to. Perhaps he'd already known how things would fall into place so naturally.

At the moment of the first encounter, all he'd had his mind on was the sensual attentions as Lavi asked in his ear, "How do you like it?"

Allen managed to angle himself around partway and give him a teasing smile, even as his eyes fluttered with pleasure and his breaths came short and lusty.

"Just make sure I'm still able to walk myself out in the morning after you're done."

He was met with a smirk that promised nothing and everything all at once, kissing him long and deep. "I'll try to keep that in mind..."

* * *

Allen stirred to a hand shaking his shoulder, humming in question and blinking the sleep from his eyes. He noticed Lavi sitting propped up on one elbow, on alert.

"Train's makin' a stop... but I don't think we're near any stations or yards."

Allen inhaled a long breath and rolled to his back, stretching out the stiffness, careful not to pull his wounded shoulder. Lavi was already staggering to his feet, carefully sliding one of the car doors open just a crack so he could peek outside. Somewhere Allen heard the churn of wheels slowing towards a halt. Lavi was completely still for a few beats as Allen rolled over and tiredly watched him expectantly, then slid the door shut and made a bee-line for their bike.

"Gotta get ready to go, like _now_."

"Cops?" Allen guessed, sitting up abruptly.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Whoever they are, they're doing an unscheduled stop and inspection, and we're out in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere. They're definitely hoping to find something that shouldn't be here."

"Wonderful," Allen groaned, brushing his hair back in exasperation. "You don't think its _our_ trail they're onto?"

"Dunno," Lavi admitted with a shrug, putting up the kickstand and flicking the motorcycle on, "but I'm not waiting to find out."

Already they could hear voices and the sliding of doors from the car just ahead of theirs and joined Lavi in the seat, tightly wrapping his arms around the redhead's torso. He murmured a quiet _ready_ so that Lavi could take off without hesitation the second he needed to. Someone shouted a _clear!_ and doors sliding shut, the voices drawing closer. Somewhere directly outside, a dog was braying, and the both of them tensed in preparation.

There was a moment of pause, and then the doors on both sides flung open. Lavi let go of the break and gunned it out of one of the openings, ignoring a startled yell as someone jumped to the side and out of his way. The bike landed and skidded slightly to the side, back tire spinning in place and kicking up a cloud of debris before finally finding traction and lunging into motion.

Someone jumped after them from behind and managed to snag Allen around the waist, half-running and half dragging their feet trying to slow them down or rip one or both of them out of the seat. Lavi noticed it the moment he felt Allen pull back and heard a gasp escape his lips, the white-haired young man trying to kick the attacker off.

Lavi accelerated faster in the hopes the guy would lose his hold and fall behind, Tim doing his own part to attack the man's arm as much as possible through the hole in his carry box, but it didn't quite manage to work out that way.

"Get off!" Allen snapped, shoving and clawing. When that didn't work, he went to his last resort, pulling one of his pistols from a holster and aiming at the edge of the man's side, away from anything that would kill the guy but make it hurt like Hell. Instead he ended up wrestling for the gun against the stubborn asshole, and at some point in the struggle the next shot went off against his chest, the man finally letting go and falling away.

Allen stared back for a while as they kept going through the woods along a narrow animal trail, breathing hard. He hoped that he hadn't just killed someone, but there was no taking it back now if he had. Biting his lip, he shoved the gun back into its holster and clung to his lover silently, trusting Lavi to get them far away. Once they lost their pursuers and crossed the country border, they would be able to relax and talk about their next move to sell off their prizes and then disappear.

Someone had to give up the chase eventually, and they were used to running. So long as they made the reward to catch them worth less than the resources and trouble to continue the hunt, they would come out victorious. That was always how it worked.

At least that was how it _normally_ worked.

This time, their pursuers were persistent, not giving them any time to stop and take it easy. A day of running turned into two, then two to three, and then three days became a week, which melted into two weeks, quickly trickling towards a third even after they'd crossed more than one country's border.

"Lavi... they're not giving up." He was already exhausted with it. The only time he'd had to sleep was riding the back seat, and he couldn't sleep _too_ deeply unless he wanted to fall off.

"Yeah, well... I guess that's what happens when you make off with stuff worth somewhere in the eight figures... we'll lose 'em eventually. I doubt they're as stubborn as we are. Just hold tight, ya?"

Allen nodded, closing his eyes and trying to find rest. Later they stopped and switched places so Lavi could have his turn to rest, riding through the night without their lights as much as was possible. Allen couldn't help nervously watching the fuel gauge, even as the older redhead was softly snoring against his ear. They'd already held up three people for the contents of their wallets to be able to get gas, and that was almost gone now. If they didn't do something, they were going to run out again, and they couldn't let that happen.

After another half-hour or so, he spotted an isolated building by the road that looked like a diner with a fuel station. Maybe they could stop for a while and convince someone into spotting them for gas rather than stealing it, since that would be rather difficult and reckless at this point. If they were especially lucky, they could manipulate a free meal out of someone... or just eat and run.

Pulling up towards the front, he turned the bike off and sat up, twitching his shoulder back to rouse his partner.

"Hey, Lavi."

"Hnnng?"

"Wake up. I found a diner. We can stop here for a bit."

Blinking, the redhead sat up as Allen was getting off the bike, following Allen's example and stretching skyward languidly. While Lavi was shaking sleep off, Allen dislodged opened up Tim's box and let the golden eagle finally stretch his wings, the bird perching on his arm. Allen made certain he had the avian secured by a tether before they headed in, in case the staff made an issue of it.

"Can I help you two with anything?" Allen glanced at a taller man with messed black hair and too-big glasses regarding them both. The expression was somewhat guarded and lingered on Timcanpy for a few moments.

Allen smiled politely. "We were hoping for some food. This place looked like a diner from the road. I hope bringing my bird in isn't too big of a problem?"

"Generally we don't allow pets inside. The cat doesn't like it."

Allen blinked, glancing around. He didn't immediately see a cat. "I'll keep him close," he promised.

Watching them for a few moments longer, almost unnervingly so, he finally sighed and directed them towards the tables. "We'll be right with you."

Allen nodded and they went to find a seat away from the front windows, where they could still watch their surroundings and not be so easily seen themselves. Lavi was silently looking around while Allen petted Tim and gave the bird attention, keen eye on the lookout for trouble. He was watching the man from the front out of his peripheral vision especially, and noticed him stop by someone behind the counter that looked like a fourteen year old girl.

He was pretending to look elsewhere and saw her lean over something, like she was trying to get a better look at them, before turning back to the older man and talking with him. Lavi gave Allen a slight nudge to get his attention and motioned with a twitch of his head, both of them seeing the man walk around the far side of the diner and around a corner.

"You think...?"

"Maybe."

"I think I'm gonna get up," Lavi told him, rising from the table. "...go use the bathroom."

"Don't fall in," Allen teased softly, trying not to look too worried. Lavi simply nodded and walked along the counter towards the corner he'd seen the other man disappear around, single eye trained as he went. Allen sat where he was and pursed his lips, hoping that they were only being paranoid. When he glanced around the rest of the diner, it looked slightly less populated than before, and what people still occupied it looked leery.

Maybe they should go as quick as they could. He didn't like the feel of any of this.

Only maybe a minute after Lavi disappeared around the corner, both he and the other man reappeared again, Lavi leading him from behind with a gun at the back of his head. Allen's hopes plummeted. He knew Lavi wouldn't be so open unless the threat was real.

What few others inhabited the diner moved to jump up, likely to escape, but Lavi was quick to pin them with his second pistol.

"Don't move! I know how to use it."

Swallowing hard, Allen jumped up and reached for his own gun with his free hand, the other still supporting Tim, and gave the redhead a questioning look.

"He was calling us in."

Hardening his expression, Allen took aim so that Lavi could better manage the rest of the building's occupants and keep them from making an escape. "How the Hell?" he demanded.

"Wasn't hard, boy," the older man hummed, wearing an inappropriate smirk(given the circumstances) that served to put his nerves on-edge. "Its been circulating around for at least a few days now." Dark eyes slid to the side at something and Allen was hesitant to follow them and drop his guard, but ended up doing so anyway for just a brief second. There was a television mounted on the wall, and though it showed nothing of him and Lavi now, he knew exactly what the man was implying.

His attention was brought away sharply by a loud glass knocking, jumping and whipping his head around to the other side. From the window just outside, two figures - one with black hair and one with long blond, neither of which he could tell if they were boys or girls - stuck their tongues out and flipped up their middle fingers, posing with the front tire of a motorcycle up in the air before taking off on it.

"That's our bike!" Lavi gaped.

That was definitely no small problem, but Allen quickly became less concerned with that and more with the teenage girl that was hopping over the counter and lunging towards his lover with the gleam of metal in one hand.

"Lavi!"

The redhead spun around, just in time for the girl to crash into him and send him staggering backwards with a strangled yell of both surprise and pain, landing on top of a table and sending it teetering at a diagonal under him with an audible crash. The moment of horrified distraction was all it took for the man to get the jump on him, lunging and grabbing him by the throat with one arm and his wrist with the other, and slamming his back into the floor, and the wind from his lungs.

His only saving grace at the moment was Tim, who screeched as he dislodged himself from Allen's hold and dove at the assailant's head with sharp talons, swooping and screeching.

Somewhere Allen heard a "Come on, Tyki!" before the man receded away and hastily made towards the exit after the smaller girl. Allen _tsk_ ed, but there was nothing to be done for it, and he had more pressing matters.

He rushed to Lavi's side as the redhead reeled, covering a wound to his abdomen with blood-soaked fingers.

"Lavi! Are you alright?!"

Lavi chuckled at the question and its obvious answer, offering up an agonized grin. "I've been better..."

"We've gotta get you out of here..." Allen groaned, not liking how much blood he was seeing. He started to get up and froze, seeing several cars parked outside and figures walking towards the building. In the very lead was one he recognized clearly, the same black-haired Japanese guard from the castle. " _Shite!_ "

Lavi glanced up in question, already starting to look a little delirious. "What?"

" _Him_ again!" Allen hissed, hand twitching over his gun. As soon as the man started to come through the door, he aimed and fired a round, satisfied by the slightly startled look that briefly crossed the man's face, even as he threw himself to the ground to avoid the bullet. Allen didn't move, standing poised and ready to fire again the second the other might pop up out of cover. "Lavi, we have to go, _now_."

The redhead took an offered hand and staggered to his feet unsteadily, heading towards the back kitchen. If they went out the back way, maybe they'd still manage to find a way to slip away.

"Give up!" Allen heard the raven-haired male shout from somewhere still near the front. "You can't keep this up forever."

"Neither can you," Allen retorted, only humoring him with an answer so he could stall while he inched backwards towards the kitchen, waiting to make sure Lavi got ahead of him first, then he'd follow.

"Try me."

"Bite me," Allen snarked in return, firing a shot towards where he assumed the man to probably be hiding, just to keep him from leaping up, and then dashing through the back after his red-haired lover before the man could realize they were making a bid for freedom.

He quickly caught up to Lavi and ushered the redhead onward, knowing that running and having their blood pumping was probably the worst thing right now, but they couldn't be caught. He thought of the possibility of surrender, only because of Lavi's wounds, but he didn't foresee their ending being a good one even if he did.

As soon as they made it out the back, two people tried to come at them from either side of the building, and Allen and Lavi both whirled with guns blazing, shooting them down. Killing would not be either of their first choice, but for their own survival, they would shoot to kill. It was well past the point already of being conservative with their bullets.

The quickly made towards the woods, but Allen was quickly realizing that they probably wouldn't make it far with how Lavi was moving and how much blood was already soaking the front of his clothes. Even the thought of going ahead - even if Lavi told him to for his own survival - was too much to even consider, but what good was going to come out of them being caught at this point?

Car tires screeched as a vehicle skidded around the corner and cut off their path between the building and the woods, several people jumping out with guns drawn at them. They both raised their weapons to fire in return, but the black-haired man and several others quickly filed out of the back door they'd escaped from moments before and trained even more guns on them from the opposite side.

Allen and Lavi both instinctively moved to stand back-to-back, covering each other, but there was still the blaring fact that looked them in the face: they couldn't win against these odds.

No one moved for the longest time, fingers itching for the trigger, but no one seemed willing to be the first to fire. The odds were obvious, and the smart thing to do would be to give up. Clearly, how this ended was going to depend on them.

Allen bit his lip, anxiety tight in his chest. There were only two ways out of this, and neither option looked good. He stared towards the dark-haired man for a long time in indecision, meeting hard, dark eyes that would do anything necessary to bring them down, tireless, while Allen's own grey eyes were exhausted and scared. Himself, he wasn't so much worried about, but Lavi...

He found his eyes going downcast and wandering over his shoulder to his partner in resignation, and it was when he did that that he swore he heard a quiet but hard, "Don't..."

His eyes wandered back towards Kanda, and he could see in just a split second of hesitation that he hadn't imagined hearing the word or understanding its meaning.

 _Don't make the foolish choice._

Allen swallowed hard, acutely aware of Lavi's back against his own, still standing steadfast with him, making no moves that Allen himself wasn't going to make, the mere presence of their proximity all the communication they needed. Whatever happened, whatever he chose, Lavi would stay by him, and Allen would do the same.

They could give up. Most anyone with a sane mind would regard it as the wisest choice.

They would lose everything they'd worked so hard to gain in their last jewel heist, but they would stop having to run. If their pursuers had any kind of mercy, they would make sure Lavi was taken care of and keep him alive, which Allen wasn't quite so sure he could do on his own, but it was still a gamble. If they both survived, they would definitely go to prison, not only for grand theft now but also several counts of murder, armed robbery, and assault. They wouldn't get out any time soon, and they would probably be incarcerated in completely separate places, living the rest of their lives apart from each other and alone.

That - next to Lavi dying - was what he feared the most. He had lived the majority of his life without Lavi in it, but now he couldn't imagine a life without the redhead at his side. For as much as Lavi often irritated him to no end, he depended on the other man like air. Even when things got tough and hopeless, he could still say that it was the happiest time of his life, so long as he had the other with him. His life had always been this way, but at least now he had someone to share the hardship with, who stayed with him and supported him no matter how ugly things got.

A life with anything less wasn't worth anything to him.

The only thing that stayed his hand for a few moments more was uncertainty that Lavi would not agree with him, that he'd rather live even if it meant they were never together again. Allen knew his own feelings, but he couldn't decide for the other what his feelings were. Hesitantly, he reached back for Lavi's hand, brushing his thigh with tentative need for some sort of sign that the choice he was making was the right one, even if it was also the foolish one.

He felt Lavi's bloody fingers touch his and coil around them tightly, reassuring and affirming the same decision without words. Allen pressed against the other man's back in silent appreciation, breathing in his last good breaths in readiness, before jolting his hand upwards and firing, his shots echoed first by Lavi's own as one or two of the crowd surrounding them took hits, then a cacophony of noise as a barrage of lead rain ripped through them both.

They kept firing, getting in a couple hits of their own, before it became too much and they both collapsed.

The firing ceased, but an echo continued to reverberate through the otherwise still air. Allen could barely hear it over the pounding in his head and sharp ache of gunshot wounds all over. There must have been at least five in his chest, another three in his midsection, a few that hit his arms and grazed his shoulder, and one that had ripped through the side of his neck and ripped a tear through it.

He didn't even care when someone ripped the gun from his limp hand, or when a palm firmly pressed against his bleeding throat, instead gray eyes wandering to the side to Lavi, who didn't move and whose face was completely slack and one uncovered eye closed. Had he already moved on ahead without him...?

Someone was saying something to him, and there was a tug at his wrist, the same side as the hand which still held onto Lavi's own tightly and refused to budge. Refused to be anywhere except for right beside his lover, especially now, in their final moments.

"Oi!"

Dully, he turned his gaze up to the raven-haired guard looking down at him from above. "Let go." When Allen said nothing, not reacting at all, the man added with a heavy, reluctant sigh, "He's already gone."

Allen only stared, refusing to comply even as someone's hands tried to rip his fingers loose, before muttering a soft, "Fuck you."

He wasn't sure what emotion it was he saw flicker through those dark eyes then, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do now was rest, and if there was an afterlife anywhere, be together again with the love of his life that he'd willingly die for. The one he _did_ die for.

* * *

He couldn't believe how cold it had gotten already. Just a few weeks ago he had been sweating up a storm, and now already he was having to wear a scarf.

It wasn't as if the cold was so intolerable or that he was incapable of handling it, but he preferred not to get chilled, especially now when he could easily avoid it whenever he wanted. That wasn't a claim he could have always made for himself, and he'd learned to come to appreciate the little things, as much as some people seemed to doubt it.

Dew clung to the grass - still not cold enough to turn it to frost - and the morning was silent, a thin fog clinging to the landscape. The hand that wasn't shoved into his coat pocket carried a small plastic bag from some shop downtown. He didn't need to look around to know where he was going, the route memorized in his head by now. What was more surprising to him was that there wasn't a permanent trail burned into the landscape by now, with how many times he treaded this way, as did many other people, albeit to a different lot than him.

When he finally reached his destination, he stopped, kneeling down on a corner of polished stone to avoid getting the knee of his pants wet and pulled a white porcelain cylinder from the plastic bag, carefully setting it up at the top of the marble plaque, taking great care to turn the cup and lotus flower within it to the prettiest angle.

Inhaling the crisp air, he sighed through his nose and stared at the chiseled name on the grave marker that read _Alma Karma_ on the front, feeling older and more weary than he had in ages.

"Hey... I know its been a while since the last time I was here, but I've been busy..." he muttered, glad for the isolation and stillness of the day, being the only one there for the moment. Other days, when people were around, he'd simply stand and think, but today was a little luckier than most. Maybe it was the cold.

He was silent for a while, closing his eyes and slouching where he kneeled.

"...I ended up getting two kids killed not that long ago on my last job. I guess I underestimated just how determined they were not to get caught. It should have been easy... just track them down and get back what they stole, but they were stubborn and stupid, and completely ready to die for each other." He opened his eyes again and stared ahead at nothing, a different time and place before his eyes, when he himself was younger and foolish and in love, and when he made the wrong choice. "Just like we were, I guess..."

Not even the wind answered him, the weight of the silence like an entire palette of bricks on his shoulders.

"I'm not proud of it. You know that's why I gave up that life... tried to turn to an honest living. I thought something like a museum would be safe enough," he paused to scoff, "but I guess I'm just full of regretted decisions. In the end I don't know how to do much else, I guess."

Whatever words he had to say ran out, and for a while he merely sat and thought of nothing, enjoying the quiet that followed. When he finally tired of staring into space, he pushed himself to his feet and left without a word, walking back towards the entrance gate and his car.

Somewhere along the way he paused where he normally wouldn't, glancing over two more graves that he would otherwise have thought nothing about if not for that encounter. Perched on one of the grave stones, a large brown bird looked back at him with sharp yellow eyes, still as a statue itself before abruptly shaking and fluffing itself up against the unseasonal chill.

More than likely, the bodies would have normally been disposed of without any proper grave site, but Kanda had personally seen to it that two open plots side-by-side were reserved just for them. No one else could see his logic, but he didn't give a damn what they thought about it. It was a relatively small favor to give a proper burial to two boys whose lives never should have come to that kind of end, who should have had a second chance at turning things around for themselves as he had been allowed.

This one small thing was all he could give them now, but he thought it was probably a gesture that would have meant the world to them. He'd seen their final wish in their last stand, in their refusal to let go of each other until the last moment, and the last uttered words of defiance that left the lips of the white-haired male that died last - and he'd granted it.

With a dismissive sniff, he resumed his walk to leave, bidding them farewell and satisfaction that they could truly stay together forever.


End file.
